Last Saturday night we went to see Rilo Kiley at Webster Hall.

It. Was. AWESOME!

Yes, I have been a Rilo Kiley fan for years, but hadn’t heard their new album yet. The new album is actually pretty good, but much to my happiness they played many of their classic hits, too—por ejemplo, they opened with It’s A Hit.

I wish I could find a picture of the outfit Jenny Lewis was wearing, because it was so fan-frigging-tastic, I can hardly contain myself! It’s the kind of thing you would never catch me wearing in a ba-jillion years, but if I had more self-confidence and a skinny little bod, I would totally rock it. This picture (courtesy of Spin.com) should give you somewhat of an idea, but the outfit I saw her in was actually this little hotpants/overalls thing. Anyway, she looked amazing and swanlike.

I have been a Jenny Lewis fan for years. Well, to be honest, I didn’t love her solo project with The Watson Twins. I mean, it is good, but I’m not in love with country music, and their album was heavily country-fied. But who here remembers Troop Beverly Hills? She played Shelley Long’s bright-eyed daughter. I used to love that movie. I was never a girl scout and I think Troop Beverly Hills filled a void. Oh, and Tori Spelling was in it. She played the daughter of the evil scouts. This movie is dated, but still fun to watch.

I bet that even fewer people remember the movie Wizard, starring Jenny Lewis and the much sought after (in the 80’s, anyway) child star Fred Savage. I used to have such a crush on him! Anyway, Wizard is about this Nintendo prodigy going to the NES championships. LOVED IT! Or I used to. Apparently it’s not out on DVD, and there aren’t any video stores anymore, so I guess I won’t be recommending that one!

The last movie I’ll mention is Foxfire. A girl power, coming of age flick starring Jenny, and Angelina Jolie before she “made it big.” It’s cheesy, but very fun, and based on the Joyce Carol Oates book, Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang. It’s loosely based, and the book is much better, FYI!!!

As big a fan I am of Jenny Lewis, I am also a huge fan of the other lead vocalist & guitarist, Blake Sennett. Apparently he, too, was a child actor. Go figure. More importantly, he has another band called The Elected. They are uh-mazing. A little more 60’s pop/blue-grass than the usual indie bands I listen to and recommend, but they are still indie (just imagine a banjo in addition to all the usual instruments), and quite talented.

I’m out of town right now—in Madison, Wisconsin. (I know, strange, right? Hubs is here on business so I decided to tag along.) More on Madison later, but the good news is, we were looking at our “fun options” and saw that The Brunettes are playing at a local club. I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about them, and the tix were $8, so we’re going to check it out.

And last but not least… My BFF spotted film crews in my neighborhood for Burn After Reading. I hope they’re still filming when I get back to NYC, because I do not want to miss a chance to see Brad Pitt and George Clooney in my ‘hood!!
Woo hoo.

Today I’m doing something different. A lovely woman named Marina Kuperman approached me, through le blog, about participating in her “virtual blog tour.” (I feel so professional!) She has just written an environmentally conscious/marine based YA book Turtle Feet, Surfer’s Beat and she has written up a little Q & A to get everyone excited about the book and her mission.
Check it out!

Quick bio:

Marina Kuperman has been living in Costa Rica for almost 5 years. After visiting the Playa Grande’s Leatherback Turtle National Marine Park and seeing this critically endangered animal, she became so moved that she not only wrote the book Turtle Feet, Surfer’s Beat but also founded the online community for kids, teens and their parents to take action in a fun way to help marine preservation.

What is Turtle Feet, Surfer’s Beat about?

My book revolves around a typical suburban teen girl, Penelope, from the States that is forced to go to Costa Rica with her parents for her father’s job assignment. Involuntarily, her parents sign up Penelope to spend two weeks at the Leatherback turtle biological station (for ‘her own good’). Penelope, obviously isn’t pleased but forgives the horrid accommodations and the never ending bug brigade as she sees the turtle and instantly pledges to do all she can to help it from extinction.
But hang ten, dudes! Penelope is about to get help. One lonely night, as she’s patrolling the beach for turtle poachers she stumbles and falls directly into the arms of the local surf champ. Together they dive into the world of surfing and marine preservation.

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Cool!
What a fun premise. Penelope sounds like a very passionate heroine.
And ooh la la—I love a good romance involving a hottie surfer dude with moral obligations. So sexy. I wonder if he’s anything like Keanu Reeves in Point Break! Sigh…

Seriously, though, I’m intrigued. You sound so motivated/devoted.

Well, these days, we are constantly facing global problems that seem to be getting worse and worse daily. Living in Costa Rica, I’ve been inspired to take action. I started by writing this book and am now developing a community of teens, surfers, artists, scientist, and everyone else who is interested in working together to have fun while helping out.

You’re website, www.turtlefeetsurfersbeat.com, is focused more on the community rather than just the book, right?

Yes. I figure, a good read helps to get us all hyped-up to take action and make a difference, especially if it’s for a good cause. And that’s exactly what my book intends to do. Since, we are all in the know about the conditions of our oceans, and really wanna do something to start making a difference. Plus, we also know that everything is so much more fun to do when you’re having a blast at it with friends. So, that’s exactly what www.turtlefeetsurfersbeat.com is all about. It’s not your typical site of more information thrown at you, but rather a way to get involved and join all the cool people already taking action!

That sounds great. I’m looking forward to reading the book and then “diving in.” Bad joke, sorry. Thanks for stopping by to tell us about Turtle Feet, Surfer’s Beat, Marina!

Thank you for having me as a guest and I look forward to everyone visiting our community and joining in the fun!

Modern Marie nominated me for a Rockin’ Girl Blogger Award a couple weeks ago—woo hoo! Thanks MM! However, I’ve been such a mega slacker that I haven’t posted it or nominated 5 other rockin’ girl bloggers yet. At this point, a lot of you may have already received this honor, so my apologies if you’ve been double picked, or whatever, but here are my 5 pass-it-on nominees:

Country Girl City Life. I know I talk about her all the time, but she’s rad! (I still can’t believe we haven’t spotted each other in da ‘hood, btw!). I’ve been wanting one of her “arm candy” bags for ages, and my hubs finally surprised me with one! I am so stoked. Now I just have to find the perfect occasion to wear it…

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Books, Boys, Buzz. These ladies are pretty rockin’. They’re all YA writers like moi, and they blog about boys 24/7, which I find endlessly entertaining.

I Play With Pins & Needles. She’s a rockin’ girl, and an awesome knitter.

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Sea Heidi. She’s so sweet! And she has a really interesting interview up right now. Well, at least it’s interesting to me because she interviewed an editor at Putnam Books.

The Land of Passive Agressiva. She makes playing softball sound fun and horrible at the same time. And I just learned that she makes toothbrush bracelets as a hobby. Weird, cool, crazy? All of the above.

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Anywho, I think I’ll end with a new Poll Topic:

What book would you like to see made into a movie?
And if you want to go the extra mile, who would you cast?

I’m going to vote for Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. But, as usual, I reserve the right to change my mind. I’d love to see Dakota Fanning try to play a hermaphrodite. Hah! But really, Middlesex it’s a great book. Jeffrey Eugenides also wrote The Virgin Suicides, which is another favorite of mine.

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Okay, I’ve made it perfectly clear how enthusiastic I am about Wednesday night on the CW. I love ANTM, but watching a series premiere is like a new pair of shoes—you try ‘em on once and decide if they’re worth the pain of breaking in, or just a fad that you’ll wear twice then put in a goodwill bag. So here are my thoughts on GG, for better or worse.

PROS:

1. Bad-boy Chuck is hilariously smarmy—I’m loving his “Brenda Walsh meets Jane-Austen-villain” persona.

2. The soundtrack is amazing, though definitely on the uber catchy side. Amy Winehouse, Peter Bjorn & John, Air, Cold War Kids, Justin Timberlake… it’s a reg’lar dance partee!

3. The clothes are fantastic. Tons of droolworthy sequins, blazers, and pumps.

4. Fantabulously scandalous plotlines. Mysterious and intriguing!!

5.Lots of good looking rich people.
(sidenote: the character of Blair was supposed to be played by La Lohan when this was pegged for the big screen. I think she would have been ace, but Leighton Meester is pretty good, too.)

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CONS:

1. The main droolworthy guy, Nate, is kinda, meh. Too “pretty,” and boring… but I guess his character in the book was kind of that way, too.

2. Too serious. It’s missing that Josh Schwartz/OC quippiness that I was hoping for.

3. Too much exposition. But it’s a series premiere so what was I expecting?

…Anyway, it’s no 90210 but I’ll definitely keep watching to see how the story unveils. Maybe they’ll introduce a quirky character so I don’t have to stare at all these poor-little-rich-girls the whole time. Wasn’t there an Ani DeFranco/bad-girl type in the book? I must confess to only having read the fist couple books, so god only knows what is going to happen. But I’m dying to find out.

America’s Next Top Model

Tyra in that Vegas showgirl outfit? Genius. She has no boundaries. And her best question of the night? = “what was it like growing up with a crack head for a mom?” Hmmm… tough question. Anywho, my other fave moments/people:

Spontaneouse. She didn’t make the cut, but I love that name.

I think my favorite is Heather, the kinda pale/goth girl with Aspergers. She’s my dark horse vote. (but she needs a good tweezin’)

The bikini wax girl is kind of hilarious, but I don’t think she’s that pretty. And I bet the ratings peaked when she gave TyTy a faux Brazilian!!!

Tyra’s definition of “plus size” this season makes me want to vomit. That girl weighs what, 115 pounds? Thank god Jay brought up the possibility of *gasp* “regular sized models.”

And Ebony is serious competition. I can’t wait to see what kind of duh-rama she’s going to bring to the runway!!!

Okay. I’m done.

I have a love hate relationship with fall. It makes me sad because I miss being in school (I know, I’m crazy) and it seems like summer has ended far too soon… but at the same time, I am cucko for autumn.

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For one thing, fashion is amazing–especially living in NYC. Not that most of us can afford it, but Intermix is like the Willy Wonka’s of couture. Check out this green dress by Jenni Kayne, for instance. Okay, so it’s a little trapeze-y for my taste, but I love the color and material. With thick tights and heels it’d be hottt.

Also, now that it’s fall, I’m in the market for some new walking-around sneakers. I’ve got my eye on these Sauconys. I love thin sneakers—you know, just in case I need to do ballet at a moments notice.

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Other Fall Things I’m excited about…
TV: Call me crazy, but I’m dying to see the CW premiere of Gossip Girl. Maybe I’m just biased because it’s a TV show based on a super popular YA novel, and it would be my DREAM to have my novel Back Talk (or any subsequent novel) be transformed to TV or film. Ah, sweet success. … But anyway, it looks salacious and silly, and I’m sure I’ll love it. I’m not too picky when it comes to mindless telly.

And who could forget the season premiere of America’s Next Top Model! I know CountryGirl CityLife is especially ecstatic about tomorrow’s season premiere. It’s going to be awesome, especially because I heard Ty-Ty is taking an “eco-friendly” approach this season—can’t wait to see how they rock that!

Theater: I just want to say a big CONGRATS to my good friend Paco who is in his first legit Off-Broadway play, The Children of Vonderly this fall. Paco has starred in several of our Potato Riot flicks, but he’s starting to hit the big time now! Yay Paco.

Books: I’m halfway through Special Topics in Calamity Physics and totally loving it. I’ve got a reading list a mile long, but I think next up I’ll read Eat, Pray, Love, or fellow Flux author Carrie Jones book, Tips on Having a Gay Ex-Boyfriend—sounds fun, right?

It’s kinda cold right now, but I heard on the news that the temp is supposed to go back up to 80 by the end of the week. Holy shnikes we have been having some schizo weather these days. Anyway, while I’m feeling all cozy-and-Fall-like, I’m going to bundle up and drink some cocoa, cuddle with my que guapo kitties, and decide which fall premiere shows to watch (Pushing Daisies), and which ones to steer clear of (Cavemen).

My sis and I went to a “spa” this week. I use the word spa in quotes because it was about as far from a spa as you could possibly get. Dictionary.com defines a health spa as: A business establishment with equipment and facilities for exercising and improving physical fitness. I suppose that’s what it was—but here’s what our experience was like:

*when we got there, there was no electricity. The manager tossed us our keys, said “the power’s out,” and walked away. (and a big “hello” to you too, grumpy lady!)

*for most of our 4 days there, we had no hot water in our room.

*at one point (when I was actually in the shower), the water shut off entirely. Yeah.

*there was some kind of smoke/gas in the air for 2 days, leaving us all with dizzying headaches. Apparently the chimney was wonky and they used nasty chemicals to unclog it.

…At one point I even burst into tears at the front desk because I just couldn’t take it anymore! I don’t usually think of myself as high maintenance, but I felt like I was complaining nonstop. Things picked up though. There was 1 shower in the main building so we all showered there. (I felt like I was back in my freshman dorm room!) Sigh. But the food was really good, and it was nice to be out in the mountains. New York State is beautiful this time of year, with the leaves changing and all that, blah blah blah.

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The coolest part was the abandoned ski lodge my sister and I found while taking a walk. Whoa. I love scary movies, and this totally made me feel like I was in The Shining. Yes, I was really scared as we pushed passed the No Trespassing sign and into the old, derelict lodge. But it was so freakin’ awesome. There was a lot of graffiti, but there were still desks, couches, and tables lying around.

The pool was grimy and full of shutters and debris from a fire that had demolished the room, but being a photographer/filmmaker, I thought it was wicked. I kept waiting for the undead to pop out of the water and pull me in. Thank god that didn’t happen. Hah!

Anyway, I don’t know if I’d go back to that spa (though they were really nice and gave us a discount for all the inconveniences) but it was great to be out in Nature. Check out this funky little gecko thing I spotted on one of our walks!
It was pretty nice to get out of the city, either way.

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This has been the fastest week ever, and it just keeps getting more hectic! Lots going on around here. School has started and the population has just quadrupled in my neighborhood. I’m scared to leave the house for fear of being trampled to death! But it’s exciting too. It almost makes me wish I was still in school—well, almost.

I have been working on a really exciting and creative project that I am giddy to show you, but not till it’s finished. Anywho, the upshot is that I’ve been flipping through magazines for days. My sister still has magazines from 1997. And not, like, collectors items or anything. Just regular old issues of Bazaar, Elle, Vogue… it’s awesome. I can’t wait to finish my fantabulous project and show you (and the world!!!) It kind of reminds me of what a day-in-the-life must be like for Stiletto Heights.

And guess what, the strange-yet-endearing Brian Mandebach interviewed me on his blog. I hope you’ll go check it out. He asked some bizarro-land questions, but it was very fun. His first novel, Or Not, is coming out this fall, and I’m very excited to check it out. I think it’s gonna be a good one!

Have a good weekend, y’all.

1. Lost in the Supermarket: The Indie Rock Cookbook.

Andy, if you’re reading this: I desperately want this for Christmas. This cookbook sounds so freakin’ cool. There are everyday and gourmet recipes from bands like Fugazi, Belle and Sebastian, Japanther, Animal Collective, Pretty Girls Make Graves, the Mountain Goats, Sonic Youth… I can’t wait to have a dinner party and say I’m making Kim Gordon’s famous Turkey Pot Pie. hehe.

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2.Dirty Dancing video game. Um, can we say AWESOME?! It hasn’t been released yet, but in this game you will be able to “experience the life of Baby, learn to dance with the resident dancing couple, Johnny and Penny, and work alongside the team at the renowned Kellerman’s Mountain House Resort.” I’m so there.

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3.The World Beard & Mustache Championship. You have gotta check this out. It’s too fabulous (in a Sound-of-Music/Oompa-Loompa kind of way).

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4.Marc Jacobs shoes.
I was just salivating over these at Zappos.com. The only problem is that MJ shoes usually go for 3-5 hundred dollars. Sigh.

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5.FASHION WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Starting Wednesday, let the fun begin.

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